The Innkeeper



System Notification: Hidden quest complete!

Hidden quest: The Midnight Inn is a bastion and a safe haven for all guests from across the universe. Yet such a refuge is bound to attract hostile attention. Sometimes, dealing with miscreants when they arrive at the Inn is already too late. Take proactive measures to eliminate forces hostile to the Inn before they arrive at the Inn!

Quest reward: Midnight Battalion panel unlocked!

Remarks: Even a broken clock is right twice a day, but it took you over a year to do something right once.

Lex was stunned. Midnight Battalion? Alright, he could openly and clearly admit that the Midnight Inn was a little different from what one would expect from an Inn… maybe. But what kind of Inn had its own battalion? Although, he could somewhat understand the system's motives.

While he was sure that a lot of the beings that visit the Inn could be convinced to holster their hostile nature if they had one, there were bound to be many that just would not do so. If that were the case, it made sense to go out and face them directly. But, that way, wouldn't he end up fighting beings across the universe?

No, that surely wasn't what this was for. It was most likely that the purpose of the battalion was to go out and face specific targets who were enemies of the Inn. Yes, that made sense. In fact, why should he limit himself just to a battalion? Didn't he have a secret news agency? Couldn't he spread spies across the universe to gather secret intel? Or be on the lookout for more inheritances which he could add to his inheritance hall?

Once Lex started thinking like this, he realized that the possibilities were endless. Why did he have to personally go to the emporium every time he needed a trade? Couldn't he set up a trading outfit or organization which got the Inn supplies which the system didn't naturally provide it with?

Lex reigned in his excitement and first took a look at the Midnight Battalion panel. If it was anywhere near as multifunctional and overarching as the event panel, Lex could not even begin to imagine the power.

Yet, much to Lex's chagrin, almost all the functions in the panel were grayed out and couldn't even be seen, let alone used.

"Mary, why is this new panel inoperable?" Lex asked, slightly annoyed.

"Since the battalion is supposed to operate outside the Inn, it is difficult for the system to perform optimally considering its damaged state. I cannot say for certain, but I expect you will need to repair 20 or 25% functionality before the panel starts showing more features."

Lex controlled his disappointment and looked at the one single feature for the battalion which was available.

It was called 'Battle formations'. After opening it, Lex began to peruse it and found that it was actually quite useful. For the first time since he received the Butter Knife, the system finally gave him a method of attacking someone directly.

It was quite convenient because much like the formations he could buy for the Inn, he could buy battle formations for his battalion, and the system would automatically send the information to his battalion. Unfortunately, it could not make them proficient from the get go, and it would require training. But at least this way he had a way of directly purchasing things from the system rather than looking around in place like the emporium.

As he was perusing the list of formations, his eyes suddenly locked onto a specific one. He read the name and then the description of the formation, then read it several more times just to be sure he wasn't making a mistake.

Considering it was a formation for Foundation realm cultivators, it was quite expensive at 120 million MP. When it was factored in that the suits Lex got each and everyone of them for 100 million that sounded like it was quite cheap, but that was only because Lex went unnecessarily overboard in having the suit made. A budget of 100 million for a suit was more appropriate for earth immortals, but Lex did not care about such minor details when it came to the life of his oldest and most trusted workers.

Still, this formation… Lex bought it immediately.

Another result of the battalion panel was that, once Lex registered the battalion, he would be able to directly speak to the commander of the battalion even when he was outside the Inn. Otherwise, once workers of the Inn left, he would be unable to contact them. Fortunately, this was a feature of the panel, and not a service, so Lex could employ it even now.

As soon as he bought the formation, he knew the information would be transmitted to them directly. But he needed to pass some instructions to ensure maximum effectiveness.

"If you end up needing to use the battle formation I sent you, do not control it yourself. Have Z take control of the formation."

Luthor would get the message, though Luthor himself would have no way of answering. If he wanted to do that, he would have to activate the business card the Innkeeper gave him, but it would be a waste to use it just for this. Since he would get the message, Lex turned his attention back to other things.

He had inspected his body quite thoroughly, using his own senses as well as checking his status through the system, but there was no mention or indication of any 'inscriptions' on his body. But Lex did not doubt at all that they were there. He just needed to discover a way to locate, and then remove them.

However, since he could not do that right now, there was only one thing left for him to do at the Inn.

He put on his Leo persona, and teleported away. When he reappeared, he was in front of the Midnight tailor! He had been extremely impressed by the suits that had been made for everyone, and wanted one of his own!

Not bothering to knock, he walked in to find Geeves sprawled on a reclining sofa, snoring lightly. Drool was dripping down his cheek and a small puddle had formed on the ground near him.

Lex could not really blame him for his state, the man had worked himself to the bone the past few days. Still, every employee had a bedroom they could visit any time. Was there really a need to sleep here, like this?

Lex cleared his throat, hoping it would rouse the man, to no avail. He tried again, a little louder, but there was still no result. In the end, he nudged Geeves' foot with his own, startling the sleeping man!

He jumped up as if he was being ambushed, and held out clenched fists as if he was ready to fight, but he still had no idea what was happening. He looked left and right, trying to discern his location and what was happening.

The poor fellow was completely disoriented, and it took him a couple of minutes to realize that he was, in fact, not being assaulted.

"Oh, oh dear, excuse my rather poor display," the man said to Leo, as he wiped the drool off his cheek. "I must have dozed off while packing up."

"It's not a problem. I understand you've had a busy few days."

"That's one way of putting it…" Geeves muttered under his breath as he slowly made his way behind the counter, and then looked at Leo. Truthfully, he had no intention of working until he got a full and proper rest, but since Leo was already here, it didn't hurt to at least hear him out.

"How can I help you, today?" Geeves said, once he positioned himself. Considering the high prestige requirement to use his shop, one would think he'd have a lot of free time.

"I was quite impressed by the suits you made for the 1000 workers heading out," Lex praised openly. "Especially since I could tell that each one boasts commendable protective capabilities."

Geeves, who was clearly still exhausted, snorted at Lex's remark.

"Commendable? Protective capabilities? My good man, they can walk in the vacuum of space in those suits! They can walk through fire and water, through chaotic spirit energy fields and literal space distortions! Those perfectly soft, air purifying, energy filtering suits are not only completely designed to support a wide range of movement, they can survive any kind of environment that can be thrown at them. My good man, the garbs of deities themselves pale in comparison to my suits! That's literally not an over-exaggeration, because those suits can refine divine energy as well!

"At the Foundation realm, there is literally nothing those soldiers can face which could cause a single stitch in those suits to rip! One of the lads said they are experimenting with teleportation, and wondered if the suit could survive. So I literally lined the suit with a special material, which can literally allow him to swim through the folds of space. Pft. Survive. Commendable protective capabilities. Child, you clearly don't have the same vision as the Innkeeper and I, so don't try to boast empty compliments. You'll only embarrass yourself."